Mobile application for visiting gyms

ABSTRACT

A system and method for locating fitness centers within a user&#39;s geographic area and gaining access and redeeming time-based memberships to fitness centers through an integrated mobile computer application via a mobile electronic device (e.g., smartphone, electronic tablet). The integrated mobile computer application allows an individual user to purchase a time-based membership (e.g., one day, two day, three day, one week, one month, etc.) from participating fitness centers using the integrated mobile computer application, redeem and activate the time-based membership upon check-in at a selected fitness center, and then continue to subsequently check-in at the selected fitness center throughout the term of the purchased time-based membership. In a preferred embodiment, initial check-in, activation and subsequent check-in at the selected fitness center is achieved through an electronic validation process using the user&#39;s mobile electronic device.

This non-provisional patent application is based on prior filedprovisional patent application Ser. No. 62/830,053 filed on Apr. 5, 2019and provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/899,534 filed on Sep. 12,2019.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to systems and methods forproviding memberships to fitness centers and, more particularly, to asystem and method for finding fitness centers within a user'sgeographical location and gaining access and redeeming memberships tofitness centers through an integrated mobile application using a mobileelectronic device, such as a smartphone or electronic tablet.

Discussion of the Related Art

The process of joining a gym or fitness center, and obtaining amembership, generally involves visiting the gym/fitness center and beingconfronted with a high-pressure sales pitch. Most gyms and fitnesscenters are looking to sign up prospective members under a contract thatcommits the member to pay a monthly membership fee regardless of thenumber of visits to the gym/fitness center. Many people end up signingcontracts for memberships and after a few visits to the gym, they eitherstop going all together or only visit the gym/fitness center a few daysa month. Cancelling the membership can often be difficult and generallyrequires the member to forfeit a security fee and one month's membershipfee.

For those individuals who do frequently use a gym/fitness center, theymay find themselves in a situation where they are away from home andunable to do their normal workout. While some national chain gyms andfitness centers have locations throughout most major cities in theUnited States, and members are typically allowed to visit thesegyms/fitness centers under the same national chain, they may find thattheir particular gym/fitness center chain is not near their locationwhen traveling to another town or city. Also, there may be certainfacilities that the person is looking for and they are not available atthe out of town location. Many people belong to more specialized gymsand fitness centers that only have a few locations and, thus, while awayfrom home, they are unable to do their normal workout. And, while somehotels do have small fitness centers within their facility, thesefitness centers or fitness rooms do not offer a great deal of options tothe user. Often, the equipment in these hotel facilities is very limitedand may not be suited for many individuals that have specific fitnessroutines and goals.

Accordingly, there remains a need for a system and method that allowsindividuals to search for gym/fitness center facilities within theirgeographical area, such as when traveling, and wherein the system andmethod allow the person to select and purchase time-based memberships atany one or more gyms/fitness centers within the area, and furtherwherein the person can then visit the selected gym/fitness center anduse the facilities during the time-based membership. There is a furtherneed for a mobile application based system and method that allows usersto identify gyms/fitness centers within a predefined geographical areaand to allow the individual users to select and purchase time-basedmemberships (e.g., one day, two day, three day, one month, six months,etc.) at the selected one or more gym/fitness centers and to thenactivate the purchased time-based membership(s) by visiting the selectedgym/fitness centers using the mobile application residing on a mobileelectronic device (e.g., smartphone, tablet, etc.).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a system and method for searchingfor and finding fitness centers within a user's geographical locationand gaining access and redeeming memberships to fitness centers throughan integrated mobile application using a mobile electronic device, suchas a smartphone or electronic tablet. The integrated mobile applicationallows an individual customer to purchase a time-based membership (e.g.,one day, two days, three days, one month, etc.) through the mobileapplication. The system further allows the user to redeem the membershipupon checking-in to the fitness center where the membership has beenpurchased, through the mobile application, and then continue checking-into the fitness center throughout the remainder of the membership periodthrough the mobile application.

According to the system and method of the present invention, individualcustomers (app users) purchase individual “one gym” membership passesthrough the mobile application. Individual passes are sold to individualpeople from participating gyms/fitness centers. The membership passesare not scheduled by the fitness centers. The membership passes areactivated at any time by the app user when the app user first checksinto the fitness center. The membership passes are time-based and mayinclude, for instance, a one day pass, a two day pass, a three day pass,a one week pass, a one month pass, a three month pass, a six month passor a full one year pass. The membership passes are sold individually,however app users can purchase more than one pass to a fitness center,even if they have already purchased a membership pass at the samefitness center or a different fitness center. The membership pass is notactivated until the app user checks-in at the respective fitness centerfor the first time. Once the app user has checked-in to the fitnesscenter for the first time with their respective membership pass, thatmembership pass will activate and count down to expiration. Themembership pass does not expire until the time runs out. However, themembership pass can be cancelled by the user or the fitness center atany time. Naturally, for the fitness center to cancel the pass, theremust be a valid reason such as the app user violating fitness centerpolicies or being abusive to other fitness center customers or staff.The app user can cancel the membership pass prior to activation andreceive a full refund. The app user can also cancel the membership afteractivation, but prior to expiration. In this instance, the app user maybe entitled to and receive a partial refund. All membership passespurchased by the app user will appear in a designated section within themobile application. The user is able to see a list of fitnesscenters/gyms to which the app user has membership passes that are stillvalid (either not yet activated or activated and not yet expired).Check-in at the fitness center is accomplished as a digitalcommunication (e.g., near field communication (NFC) or opticalscanning/reading, such as a QR code) using the app user's smart device(e.g., smartphone or electronic tablet), and not through the fitnesscenter's software (unless manual check-in is opted).

The app user will have the option to request a tour of the fitnesscenter when they purchase the membership pass to that particular fitnesscenter using the mobile application. Upon completion of the purchase,the mobile application will show the user a check box labeled “Request aTour?” and if the check box is checked, the gym will be notified thatthe app user has requested a tour when the app user first checks-in tothe fitness center and activates their membership pass.

If the app user enters a participating fitness center, but has not yetpurchased a membership pass to that particular fitness center/gym, theycan purchase a membership pass at the time of first check-in. This canbe accomplished either through the mobile application (e.g., byelectronic communication, such as near field communication or byelectronic reading/scanning, such as scanning a QR code presented on thedisplay of the app user's smartphone) or manually through the fitnesscenter's software. Ideally, the app user will have an NFC enableddevice, such as a smartphone or an NFC enabled card. The user then scanstheir NFC enabled device over an NFC tag/decal at the fitness centercheck-in counter. The mobile application will then navigate directly tothat particular fitness center's profile on the app user's smartphone.The app user can then select to purchase the desired time-basedmembership and proceed through check-in at the fitness center, therebyimmediately activating the purchased membership pass for that particularfitness center.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature of the present invention,reference should be made to the following detailed description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a device-to-device scanningcheck-in and validation process in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an on-the-fly validation andcheck-in process in accordance with another embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an all-in-web check-in andvalidation process according to a further embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a user check-in and validation processusing NFC (Near Field Communication) readers in accordance with yet afurther embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an alternative system of theembodiment of FIG. 4 wherein a user that does not have an NFC-enabledcellular device is provided with an NFC embedded chip on a card thatacts as an NFC-enabled device for subsequent visits to the gym; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a preferred embodiment of thesystem and method of the present invention wherein the user downloadsthe mobile application to their smart electronic device and thereafteris able to search for and select one or more fitness centers in theuser's geographic area and to purchase time-based membership passes atselected fitness centers, and further wherein the user therein is ableto check-in to a fitness center/gym where a time-based membership hasbeen purchased and activate the time-based membership, either with anNFC enabled device or through manual check-in by user ID.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A system and method provides a mobile application that is downloadedonto a user's smart electronic device (e.g., smartphone or otherportable smart electronic device). The mobile application allows usersto visit nearby gyms/fitness centers and to undergo a check-in andvalidation process using the user's smart electronic device or,alternatively, an NFC enabled chip on a card in order to use thefacilities at a selected gym/fitness center. The objective is to makethe process of visiting a gym/fitness center for a few days painless forboth users and gym/fitness center operators and staff.

In each of the following described embodiments of the invention, theuser must first download the mobile application onto their smartelectronic device. Typically, this is done through the App Store on asmartphone, electronic tablet or other portable smart electronic device.Once the user downloads the mobile application, the user is instructedto register by providing the user's name, contact information and creditcard information. Once registered, the user is able to view nearbygyms/fitness centers near the user's current location displayed on a mapon the user's smart electronic device. The participating gyms/fitnesscenters registered with the mobile application are displayed on the map.In a preferred embodiment, the map page is the home page of the mobileapplication and is displayed immediately after registration. The user'scurrent location is displayed on the map along with pins for the nearbyparticipating gyms/fitness centers. The name of the gym/fitness centeris displayed below or adjacent to the pin. By touching the pin on thedisplay of the user's smart electronic device, the profile page of theselected gym/fitness center is presented to the user. This gym profilepage will show such things as the types of fitness machines and otheramenities available at the selected gym/fitness center. The gym profilepage also presents the type of services or activities offered atparticular fitness centers, such as spinning classes, pilates, boxing,yoga, etc. The selected gym/fitness center page will also present offersfor time-based memberships and display the rates for the membershippasses for the time-based memberships. For example, the selectedgym/fitness center may offer a one day pass, a two day pass, a three daypass, a seven day pass, or a monthly pass. The rates for each time-basedpass is also displayed. The mobile application provides other featuressuch as displaying all newly purchased membership passes at thegyms/fitness centers that have been purchased by the app user. This willinclude the name of the gym/fitness center, the pass duration, the dateof purchase, the ability to cancel the active pass and the ability topull up a pass history page. A pass history page displays all previouslypurchased time-based membership passes that have been purchased by theuser. For each pass, the display will indicate the name of thegym/fitness center, the number of days for the time-based membershippass that was previously purchased, the date of purchase and the totalamount for the one or more purchased membership passes.

Referring to FIG. 1, one embodiment of the invention is shown.

App User:

The app user downloads the application from the store, sets up hisaccount and is able to see the offer listings from all the nearby gyms.The app user selects the offer and pays for it via online payment. Thistime-based membership will now be added to the list of valid membershipsof the user and a specific QR code will be generated against it.

Electronic Validation Process:

The app user walks in the gym to active his membership. The app usergoes to the valid memberships list in the application, selects thetime-based membership he wants to avail and shows the QR code. A gymrepresentative will scan the QR code (presented on the screen of userapp) from the Gym Scanner Mobile Application. If validated, a successmessage will be shown on both ends (gym and user) and user can proceedto the gym to use the facilities under membership.

Manual Check-In:

In case the user doesn't bring his cellphone, he can provide his phonenumber/user ID to gym staff, they can look up his valid memberships andvalidate. Manual check-in option can be provided via web portal and/orscanning application.

Referring to FIG. 2, a second embodiment of the invention is shown.

App User:

The app user downloads the application from the store, sets up hisaccount and is able to see the offer listings from all the nearby gyms.The app user selects the offer and pays for it via online payment. Thistime-based membership will now be added to the list of valid membershipsof the user and a multiple digit unique identifier (e.g., the app user'scellphone number) is generated against it.

Electronic Validation Process:

The app user walks in the gym to activate his membership. The app usergoes to the gym staff and provides his phone number ormulti-digit-unique-offer-identifier to the gym representative who entersthis information in the gym web portal. Once this is done, all therelevant details will show up and the gym representative can validatethe user and activate the membership.

Manual Check-In:

In case the user doesn't bring his cellphone, he can provide his phonenumber/user ID to gym staff, they can look up his valid memberships andvalidate and activate the time-based membership. Manual check-in optioncan be provided via web portal and/or scanning application.

Referring to FIG. 3, a third embodiment of the invention is shown.

App User:

The app user downloads the application from the store, sets up hisaccount and is able to see the offer listings from all the nearby gyms.The app user selects the offer and pays for it via online payment. Thistime-based membership will now be added to the list of valid membershipsof the user and a specific QR code will be generated against it.

Electronic Validation Process:

The app user walks in the gym to activate his membership. The app usergoes to the valid memberships list in the application, selects thetime-based membership he wants to avail and shows the QR code to a gymrepresentative who will scan the QR code by a camera-enabled device(either laptop or webcam). If validated, a success message will be shownon both ends (gym and user) and user can proceed to gym to use thefacilities under the membership.

Manual Check-In:

In case the user doesn't bring his cellphone, he can provide his phonenumber/user ID to gym staff, they can look up his valid memberships andvalidate. Manual check-in option can be provided via web portal and/orscanning application.

Referring to FIG. 4, a fourth embodiment of the invention is shown.

App User:

The app user downloads the application from the store, sets up hisaccount and is able to see the offer listings from all the nearby gyms.The app user selects the offer and pays for it via online payment. Thistime-based membership will now be added to the list of valid membershipsof the user. Every user will be assigned a unique NFC code which willuniquely identify the user.

Electronic Validation Process:

The app user walks in the gym to activate his membership. The app userenters the gym premises with his NFC-enabled phone and walks to the areaof facility he wants to avail. Gym should have an NFC detector on eachfacility area which will detect that user has entered this area whichmeans he has availed the offer and activated his time-based membership.The app user and gym both will be notified of the event.

Manual Check-In:

In case the user doesn't bring his cellphone, he can provide his phonenumber/user ID to gym staff, they can look up his valid memberships andvalidate. Manual check-in option can be provided via web portal and/orscanning application.

Referring to FIG. 5, if a user doesn't have an NFC-enabled cellulardevice, he can be provided the NFC embedded chip on his 1st visit to anygym. The gym will map the user's user-ID on the NFC chip and that cardwill act as an NFC-enabled device on his subsequent visits to any gym.

Referring to FIG. 6, a preferred embodiment of the system and method ofthe present invention is represented in the schematic diagram. Themembership purchase process begins by the user downloading the mobilecomputer application onto the user's smart electronic device. The userregisters with the mobile computer application providing all pertinentinformation including the user's name and credit card information, andonce completed, an account is assigned to the user. (It should be notedthat in each of the previously described embodiments, a user account isassigned to the user upon downloading the mobile computer applicationand completing the registration process). Once the user has registered,the application is available for use on the user's smart electronicdevice. The user can then search for a fitness center in the user'sgeographical location, or other geographic location that the user may betraveling to. The user is then presented with the participating fitnesscenters viewable on a map on the user's smart electronic device. Theuser can then select any one or more of the presented participatingfitness centers and view the facilities that are available. The user canthen select a time-based membership offer from any one or more of theparticipating fitness centers within the defined geographical area. Atthe time of purchasing a time-based membership from any one or more ofthe participating fitness centers, the user may be required to agree toterms of agreement of the particular fitness center and can thenpurchase the time-based membership from the fitness center through themobile computer application. It should be noted that fitness centershave the ability and must upload their respective terms of agreementonto their profile from their respective back-end computer applicationsassociated with the mobile computer application. The purchasedtime-based membership is not activated until the user checks-in to theselected fitness center using the mobile computer application on thesmart electronic device.

The membership activation process is achieved when the user enters thefitness center for the first time. The user may be required to approacha check-in desk or other location for check-in at the fitness centerand, at that check-in desk or other location, the user scans an NFC tagat the check-in desk or other location using the user's NFC enabledsmart electronic device. To scan the NFC tag that is located in thefitness center, the user hovers their smart electronic device over theNFC tag to thereby activate the purchased time-based membership at thatfitness center. It should be noted that NFC must be enabled on theuser's smart electronic device prior to scanning over the NFC tag at thefitness center. Once the user has scanned their NFC enabled mobileelectronic device over the NFC tag, a membership activation window isqueued on the user's smart electronic device. The user taps activationconfirmation on the display of their smart electronic device and thepurchased time-based membership is activated and all payments arequeued. The user is then able to proceed to use the available facilitiesin the fitness center under the purchased time-based membership.

Upon subsequent visits to the same fitness center, the user walks intothe fitness center, hovers their NFC enabled smart electronic deviceover the NFC tag and the already activated membership logs the check-into the fitness center's back-end computer program associated with themobile computer application. The user then is permitted access to thefitness center to use the facilities under the purchased time-basedmembership.

Upon entering the fitness center for the first time, if the user has notpreviously purchased the time-based membership for that fitness center,then upon hovering the user's NFC enabled smart electronic device overthe fitness center's NFC chip, the user will be presented withtime-based membership offers for purchase at that fitness center. Thesepresented time-based membership offers are presented via the mobilecomputer application on the display of the user's smart electronicdevice. The user can then select the desired time-based membership offerand complete the purchase by tapping on the desired time-basedmembership offer. The user may be presented with the fitness center'sterms of agreement and be required to accept the terms of agreement tocomplete the purchase. Once accepting the terms of agreement, thepurchase of the selected time-based membership will be completed and theappropriate cost will be charged to the user's account under the mobilecomputer application.

While the present invention has been shown in accordance with severalpreferred and practical embodiments, it is recognized that departuresfrom the instant disclosure are fully contemplated within the spirit andscope of the present invention which is not to be limited except asdefined in the following claims as interpreted under the Doctrine ofEquivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for allowing access to fitness centerscomprising: establishing a mobile computer application for use on auser's smart electronic device; allowing the user to download the mobilecomputer application for storage, access and use on the user's smartelectronic device and registering the user to establish a user account;enabling individual and non-affiliated fitness centers to presenttime-based membership offers on the mobile computer application that areunique to each individual and non-affiliated fitness center and validonly at the individual and non-affiliated fitness center, therebydefining participating individual and non-affiliated fitness centers;determining a user's geographical location via the user's smartelectronic device; presenting the user with the identification of all ofthe participating individual and non-affiliated fitness centersavailable for access and use to the user within the user's geographicallocation; allowing the user to view the presented participatingindividual and non-affiliated fitness centers within the user'sgeographical location; presenting to the user the time-based membershipoffers of the participating individual and non-affiliated fitnesscenters; allowing the user to purchase one or more time-basedmemberships from any one or more of the participating individual andnon-affiliated fitness centers; storing the one or more purchasedtime-based memberships on the mobile computer application residing onthe user's smart electronic device; activating one particular purchasedtime-based membership when the user enters the individual fitness centerassociated with the one particular purchased time-based membership;validating the one particular purchased time-based membership at theindividual fitness center each time the user enters the individualfitness center associated with the one particular purchased time-basedmembership throughout the duration of the purchased time-basedmembership; allowing the user access to use of facilities in theindividual fitness center available under the one particular purchasedtime-based membership throughout the duration of the purchasedtime-based membership starting on the date of activation; and presentingall time-based memberships purchased by the user on the mobile computerapplication, and displaying a list of all purchased time-basedmemberships that are still valid, including any purchased time-basedmemberships that have not been activated and also all purchasedtime-based memberships that have been activated including the timeremaining on each of the purchased, valid and activated time-basedmemberships.
 2. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the oneparticular purchased time-based membership is individually andselectively activated by an electronic validation process when the userenters the selected fitness center associated with the one particularpurchased time-based membership.
 3. The method as recited in claim 2wherein the electronic validation process includes the steps of:assigning a unique Near Field Communication (NFC) code to uniquelyidentify the user; associating the NFC code assigned to the user withthe user account on the mobile computer application residing on theuser's smart electronic device; establishing an NFC enabled device foruse by the user, wherein the NFC enabled device recognizes the uniqueNFC code assigned to the user and stored in the mobile computerapplication residing on the user's portable smart electronic device;detecting the NFC enabled device at the selected fitness center upon theuser entering the selected fitness center; identifying the user's uniqueNFC code; and activating the user's time-based membership.
 4. The methodas recited in claim 3 further comprising the step of: identifying theuser's unique NFC code upon each subsequent return of the user to theselected fitness center throughout the term of the purchased time-basedmembership.
 5. The method as recited in claim 3 wherein the NFC enableddevice is the user's smart electronic device, and the NFC code isdetermined upon the user moving the user's smart electronic device overan NFC detector at the fitness center.
 6. The method as recited in claim2 wherein the electronic validation process includes the steps of:generating a QR code unique to the user and assigning the QR code to theuser's account on the mobile computer application; scanning the QR codeat the selected fitness center upon the user entering the selectedfitness center and reading the QR code that is unique to the user andthereby identifying the user's account; and activating the user'stime-based membership.
 7. The method as recited in claim 6 furthercomprising the step of: reading the user's QR code that is presented onthe user's smart electronic device and reading the QR code to identifythe user's account and permitting access to the fitness centerfacilities upon each subsequent return of the user to the selectedfitness center throughout the term of the purchased time-basedmembership.